Thanksgiving 2021

 "The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added... No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

President Abraham Lincoln: Proclamation of Thanksgiving

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!  I want you all to know that I am greatly appreciative of all of you that are reading.  I pray you have many things to be thankful for and that the list only grows over the coming days, months, and years.  I hope you are able to take the time to be with family today, whether it be the one you are born into or the one you choose, and are able to take the time to reflect on the blessings in your life and to express that gratitude.

Give thanks.

This year, that may be hard.  2021 has been another where thanksgiving has been a challenge.  Difficult to focus on the positives.  But I think there have been things to be grateful for.

I'm thankful to have the time I do with my family.  Working from home creates challenges, but it also has many, many positives.

I'm thankful we've been healthy.  That Jamie and I have been vaccinated and avoided Covid-19.  That maybe we're finally turning a corner on this pandemic.

I'm thankful for every time we've been able to see family, especially since we've moved away.

I'm thankful to have become so settled in Brownsburg, IN.  To have the church home we do.  To get to sing on that praise team.  For the friends we've made so quickly.

I"m really thankful for my new company.  I've grown more and learned more this year than I have in the past and am continually humbled by their values and priorities.

Even in another absolutely crazy year, I'm thankful.  I'm very thankful.

I hope you are able to do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful

In this season more than others, we take time to remember what we are thankful for.  It's really something we should be doing all year long, but it is also important to have touchstone moments that really make us step back and reflect.  Birthdays, New Years, and Thanksgiving.

It's funny; going over my list this year is very different than last years.  To others it may look like a list of regrets or things that upset me this year.  But this list of blessings means more to me than others have in even the recent past.  I've learned and grown more through these in so many different ways.

1. I'm thankful I lost my job - It really was one of the best things that could have happened to me.  I'm happier.  I'm healthier.  I've gotten more time with my family.  It's something I should have walked away from a long time ago.  And while I'm still searching for that next permanent job, I've seen God provide in ways that I did not know before.  It's been humbling, but it's been good.
2. I'm thankful that I have had to confess some sins - Doing so privately and publicly here.  It means God is still working on me.  That He still speaks, and I'm not so hardened as to not listen.  It's deepened mine and Jamie's relationship.  And it's getting us closer to goals we have as a couple.
3. I'm thankful that we're staying with my in-laws - And that there are others that have offered.  Because it means we have family that loves us and that we love to be with.  It means they have room.  I'm grateful that we get along well with both my family and Jamie's and want to spend time with them.  That's not always the case.
4. I'm thankful I have stubborn children - Because while it may not be easy now, it can pay off in the future.  Stubborn, head strong children can be more likely to resist peer pressure and more likely to be leaders.  To know where their worth comes from.  It's challenging now, no doubt, but it will be worth it.

I'm thankful for my family.  I'm thankful for my friends.  I'm thankful for you readers, more than you can imagine.

I have so much to be thankful for, even for those unlikely blessings.

What are you thankful for?  What things in your life caused anxiety and heartache at the time, but now should be counted as blessings?

If at no other time, why not take a few moments to remember them today and tomorrow. 

Be thankful, always.

Holiday Parties - Why I Love My Work and Why I Love My Church

This week has marked the start of the holiday party season for the Keeler household.  On Tuesday evening, Jamie had her annual Christmas Cast Party (the first year it has not been at our apartment).  This evening, we will be attending the annual Level 2 Legal Solutions Holiday party in Richardson.  This Sunday evening, we will have the privilege of attending the Volunteer Appreciation dinner at Stonepoint Church in Wills Point.  Both are events we look forward to all year long. 

--------------------

The Level 2 Legal Solutions Holiday Dinner is truly one of the things that I love about my work and one of the things that really sets us apart from other companies in our field.  Every year, our company gives back to its employees with a great dinner, door prizes, games, gifts, and a truly enjoyable evening.  We'll close the office early and head out to dinner, with a drinks and plenty of opportunity to socialize.  Everyone is there from the CEO to the newest reviewers. 

For years, the dinner used to be held in Wills Point at Four Winds Steakhouse.  The one night of the year my drive actually worked to my advantage.  One benefit, I suppose, of having a four star steakhouse in your town half-way between the offices.  We would bus all the reviewers out to Wills Point and back again.  Last year, we finally moved the party up to Richardson, allowing an earlier end for everyone involved.

The dinner was also an opportunity for us to announce the recipients of the L2L Charitable Giving Grant Awards.  Each year (and now multiple times a year), we ask the employees to nominate charities that are important to them for the opportunity for a grant for that organization.  This is the fifth year of that program, I believe.

The dinner can be very difficult to schedule.  We never know exactly how many people will be working on projects at the time, especially as far in advance as many locations need to know, so it takes a lot of coordination and preparation to pull it off as well as we do.  It is noticed and very appreciated by our workforce.

--------------------

The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at Stonepoint is an opportunity for the staff of Stonepoint to say thank you to the many volunteers that help keep Stonepoint serving.  They provide the meal and serve the many volunteers and provide the evenings entertainment.  It's a night of games with prizes and consequences (our church is a big believer in consequences), with a few surprises along the way. 

This will be Jamie and my third Volunteer Appreciation Dinner.  It's a gesture that truly reflects the hearts of those on the staff of the church and their care for its members.  A reminder that the Church is not the pastor, not the staff - it's the members of the body.  This is just one of the many reasons Why I Love My Church.

--------------------

I hope you and yours have many opportunities to get together with the various groups that make your lives great.  From family, to friends, to church family, to co-workers.  To enjoy this season and to look forward to greater things ahead.